You have to get out and train once a month, unless hunting seasons make it unreasonable to be out on patrol. No matter how much you know, or used to know, or have studied, you will not be in synch with others without actually spending days in the field with them, and learning how each other react, move, and communicate. This has to be learned by actually doing. Even as a lone scout you must scout often to become one with the environment, to move in it naturally, and learn to use the terrain without being overly concious of it.
When I speak of training I refer mainly to the skills. Physical training/physical fitness can be done in the civilian environment by running, bicycling, etc. Don't waste time with others by running obstical courses or climbing bariers. Skills are truly that, skills. If you ever get thrown into a "real" situation, you will experience a lot of sensory overload, and much of your reaction/action must kick in automatically. If you do not have practice in E&E from civilian encounters out in the boonies, you may freeze up when encountering real hostile others. If you have not learned to stay 100% focused while out all day humping your rifle and pack in a safe environment, it will be more likely that you will fall into DIDDY BOP mode even in a "real" situation, when hours go by with no action. Let the enemy DIDDY BOP into your rifle sights, don't diddy bop into his. Diddy Bop is a great ally, but a terrible enemy. (or is it a useful servant, but terrible master?)
If you don't force yourself to ALWAYS be CONSTANTLY looking for escape routes as you walk along while on patrol during training, you may find yourself standing there making a target of yourself with no place to go when real stuff happens. If you don't develope strong habits, you won't have time to think of this stuff when the sensory overload of STUFF hits the fan. When making split second life or death decisions, you don' t want to throw all the basics into the process, they must be on auto-pilot. No matter how good a rifle you have, and no matter how reliable it is, if your mind jams it is not worth doodly squat. Sensory overload WILL kill you, and your patrol. Don't take your teammates with you when you go!
If up until now you have not been much of an outdoors person, you need to get used to that. You need to be able to unconciously sort out the natural from the unnatural sounds in the forest, desert, swamp, mountains or whatever. The deep woods, swamp, or any unfamiliar territory can be intimidating if you think you are lost, or even just unsure of your location. With someone chasing and shooting at you it can be discouraging to the point that you may give up. (I hope not!) You must learn that as long as you have some food and water, and a map and compass, you are never lost, and that spending the night where ever you are is not that terrible of a thing.
Last but not least we have to become expert with the rifle. Unlike in the movies, using a rifle as a noise making device servers no purpose. (ever notice how in Holly-Weird shoot outs, most of the people, most of the time, use their weapons to make noise at each other?) One shot, one kill, make every shot count. Become one with your rifle. Become more than just an expert shot, learn to carry that rifle "at the ready" all day. And again, a weapon is NOT a noise making device.
So get out and actually train. Don't just dream it, or think it, or think that you are so cool and strong and brave that all you need to do is grab your gun and fight. You will go down. If the future hands you a steaming hot plate of crap, you had better already have your gloves on, because if you don't you will burn your fingers, and spill that crap all over yourself. Like crawling before you walk, you had better handle some cold crap before the hot crap hits the fan.
That's all....DISMISSED!
